Vera Wang

Things that came before, people and things and experiences - that does mean something to me. It doesn't mean I don't embrace the new, but I don't forget the past, either.

That was a major goal for me - to be able to reach and encourage more women, to encourage them to express themselves and be what they want to be. People get very trapped where they are.

Fashion to me has become very disposable; I wanted to get back to craft, to clothes that could last.

Brides today are increasingly sensitive to the tastes, feelings and finances of their attendants.

A woman is never sexier than when she is comfortable in her clothes.

It's hard to juggle being a businessperson with being a creative person. You have to organize yourself - PR needs me for PR, and the licensing division needs me for licensing, the bridal people need me for bridal.

I was an art history major, but never specifically contemporary. I would say where I really stopped were the abstract expressionists in the New York school.

Design is about point of view, and there should be some sort of woman or lifestyle or attitude in one's head as a designer. So my being able to reach the masses was something that meant a great deal to me - especially for women who could never wear Vera Wang.

I make things of my own that aren't that glam, but I'm not known for that, which has always been a bit of a frustration for me.

I like the gritty parts of fashion, the design, the studio, the pictures.

People get very trapped where they are. When they hear 'fashion' they get intimidated, particularly at the upper end because it's so elitist.

I've always tried to push myself technically and to push myself visually. That's been part of the journey.